News Blog

Pay for Graves

"Samoa Bunker" by Ingrid Nickelsen, a new addition to the Morris Graves' permanent collection.

Question: That fiver burning a hole in your pocket (or wiggling to get out of your just-spend-it card): Do you really have the best plan for it? Coffee is so everyday. Happy hour, yeah, whatever, that's what the other bills and credits are for. No, where you're gonna march that itchy five bucks is to the Morris Graves Museum of Art on F Street in Eureka, where you were planning to go sink into a fine-art reverie anyway. Right? Right?

That's right: Beginning Jan. 1, the private, non-profit MGMA is charging $5 admission to its exhibitions ($2 for seniors 65 and over and for students with ID; free for children 17 and under, and free for museum members). The museum has had free admission since it opened Jan. 1, 2000, says a news release from the MGMA. Executive Director Jemima Harr explains:

“Over the past few years, the recession has been particularly devastating for the cultural and arts community. The many people who have a deep affinity for the Morris Graves Museum of Art understand all too well that this institution has been greatly impacted by the economic crisis. Around the world and in our backyards the landscape for nonprofit organizations has shifted dramatically. Organizations that wait too long to realize this truth or dismiss it entirely are likely to become casualties of the era. Under no circumstances will we allow this to be the fate of the Morris Graves Museum of Art."

The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Admission includes access to all programs, including Art Talk Sundays, Jazz Jams, Second Saturday Family Arts Days and Afternoons of Dance. But you can still go into the museum store and wander around the Melvin Schuler Sculpture Garden in the back of the museum for free, and Arts Alive! and KEET’s Kids Club at the MGMA also will remain free.

Harr added that the museum will "look for opportunities in the future to ensure that the admission fee does not serve as a barrier to those who cannot otherwise afford it."